


School Reunion

by RA_of_Light



Series: Richard and Alice [1]
Category: Richard Armitage - Fandom
Genre: F/M, real person fiction - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-18
Updated: 2019-02-18
Packaged: 2019-10-31 03:18:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17841434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RA_of_Light/pseuds/RA_of_Light
Summary: Inspired by picture of Richard Armitage at Sundance Festival where he looked like he was having his school photo takenThis story is of Richard and original character Alice and how they met





	School Reunion

Alice moved the cursor down the website page and felt a knot in her stomach as she looked at the words ‘Midland High, 20 year school reunion’  which were pasted across the page in Comic Sans, of all fonts. She scrolled down the list of confirmed attendees, some of no consequence; some names were anxiety inducing and then one made her take in a sharp deep breath….Richard Armitage

She was sixteen when she first noticed him, they were in the same year but being studious she hadn’t really paid much attention to boys or even most her fellow students.  He came to her attention one lunchtime in the library, where she spent most her spare time. She was tidying up a section in the library when she heard shuffling behind the bookcase. Alice peeked round the side of the shelf and was met by a pair of piercing blue eyes.

The boy looked startled at having drawn attention, dropped the book he was handling with a loud thud and apologised in a surprisingly deep voice. Alice giggled in response; she couldn’t help but be drawn in by his nervously fluttering eyelashes and large soft hands which wrapped around the book he picked up.

“What’s the book?” she asked breaking the awkward silence

‘Oh!’ he replied looking down shyly at the book that he was shuffling from one hand to the other “It’s the Pan book of Amateur Dramatics”

Alice looked at him smiling “You’ve been given the lead in this year’s play if I recall? Are you trying to pick up some tips?”

Richard looked up at Alice from the book and beamed at her “Yeah, I’m really excited to get the lead and want to do the best I can!”  He knew of Alice because she was in his year, though they’d never really spoken before. She was the brightest person he knew and pretty much whenever he saw her, he noticed her nose was buried in her latest tome.

‘Well, good luck!’ Alice said cheerily and she turned and wandered back to her side of the shelf

In all honesty, Alice had to get away from him as she was rather confused by her reaction from talking to him. Being so close and looking at his face in such detail, she shivered at the memory of how pretty his eyes were. She had not really looked into any boys eyes before and was struck by how blue they were with such long lashes and framed by his pale skin and soft brown hair.

Alice woke from her daydream of old school memories. The thought of seeing Richard again, now at 36 caused her heart to flutter. They’d only ever been friends at school even though she’d had massive crush on him after their first acquaintance in the library, but it had always been unrequited. They had spent many lunch times together after that as she helped him figure out some of the more complicated aspects in the drama books he perused.  It worked for Alice as she got to spend time with this pretty, sweet boy.

They did keep in touch, briefly, when he left school at 16 and she carried on with her A level exams. She knew he’d gone abroad to get his Equity card and heard tit bits from local gossips every now and again about what he was doing. But as the years flew by, their contact had diminished; Alice had done brilliantly with her exams, went to a prestigious University followed on by a Master’s degree then a Doctorate. She’d focused on art history and was well respected in her field. Relationships came and went, she’d been fairly happy but they had all just fizzled out as no one seemed to get into the core of her.  Double checking the attendance list again and seeing his name was definitely there, she decided she would have to go. Alice couldn’t resist the idea of seeing her school crush in the flesh one more time after seeing him on TV a few times over the years.

The night of the reunion arrived and Alice plumped for a simple black shift dress which she accessorised with red flat shoes and a slick of red lipstick. She was conscious not to draw too much attention to herself as she wasn’t a fan of big gatherings.

When she arrived, the village hall had an undeniable buzz to it; obviously most of the year was excited at the prospect of seeing ‘boy done good’ Richard Armitage there. Alice recognised a few people and said some brief ‘heys’ and ’hellos’ then grabbed a cup of punch and headed to the back of the room to a nice dark spot. She was glad to get away from the dull conversations about careers, kids and what nots.

Suddenly, a small commotion broke out by the entrance and she could see flashes from camera phones going off. She immediately realised that Richard must have arrived, standing on her tip toes she  could see his head hovering a good few inches above the crowd. His head was looking down as he greeted people and graciously signed a few autographs. As the crowd diminished after 30 odd minutes, she was able to see the full vision of him. He was simply gorgeous, broad shoulders and a slim chest covered by a dark blue shirt finished off with a pair of dark blue jeans. His hair was darker brown than she’d seen before which made his skin luminous and his blue eyes shine and Alice had to think to breathe as she took it all in

As he opened the village hall door, Richard suddenly realised that he had somewhat underestimated quite how much fuss his arrival up would cause. As he entered the room, he heard a shout and felt all eyes turn towards him

‘Omg, he’s actually here’ said a woman’s voice

‘Richard, old bean’ said another

‘Oh Rich, you look delectable’ from another direction followed by a hand reaching out to touch his chest

“Bugger” he thought and automatically flipped into professional mode, he stood up straight and beamed a smile at the crowd. Graciously he talked to each and every person who wanted to chat; he nodded and smiled benignly until the crowd gradually thinned out. He made his excuses finally and headed to the bar.

Thankfully by that point, his old school friends had their fill and he was able to relax and look around the room for the person he actually wanted to talk to…Alice. She was the only reason he’d decided to come. Richard didn’t know if she would be there even though her name was on the event page but he felt it was worth the risk. His mind skipped back to their regular lunchtime chats in the library; she was so cute, funny and was incredibly intelligent. He always felt slightly intimidated by her clever mind even though she’d never done anything deliberately to intimidate him. However, he’d concluded that they could only be friends because he wasn’t clever enough to meet her needs. So he decided it was better to stay good friends so he could continue to spend time with her.

He brought his focus back to the present and used his height advantage to scan the room, desperately hoping to see her somewhere. He was starting to get disappointed when he noticed a slim figure in black sat in a corner their face illuminated by a mobile phone screen.

He crossed the room unnoticed by his target and sidled up to her and in his distinct deep voice gently said;

“Any chance you might be able to assist me with some unfamiliar terminology?”

Alice was startled, but instantly recognised the voice asking her a somewhat bizarre question.  As she looked up, she was met once again, after all those years, by a pair of gentle but sparkling blue eyes. Her reaction was immediate; she jumped up and cried out ‘Oh Richard!’

He laughed deeply, smiling at her reaction to his intrusion and spoke ‘Hey Alice, how are you doing?’

He scanned her face, it was just as pretty as it was 20 years ago but etched with some life experience and the confidence of a woman in her 30s. Her hair was soft light brown and wavy and fell just below her ears floating beside her jawline. Her lips were so very inviting, blushed with red and looked amazing against her alabaster skin tone. He couldn’t stop himself and picked up her hands softly in his and gave her a gentle peck on the cheek.  Alice blushed as he took hold of her hands in his and graciously accepted the kiss, his cheek grazed hers and she shivered.  As he pulled back, still holding her hands they just looked at each other grinning both lost in the moment of reunion. Richard broke the silence and with a wide smile said “So, you came then?  I had hoped you would”

Alice was taken aback that Richard had actually hoped to see ‘her’.

“Yeah, you’re the only reason why I came here Alice, you’re pretty much the only person I really liked and respected at school. You look really well! How’s life been treating you?”

Alice’s mind was a bit awash with his statement and questions, so fumbled a reply

‘’I , urm, well, it’s amazing to see you Rich, you look, well…well. Really well. Me, urm , yeah, good”

She was horribly embarrassed at her inability to string a sentence together and was convinced the room was getting hotter and became visibly flustered.

Richard noticed her discomfort and he wasn’t too keen that people were starting to notice his presence again, so suggested they go for a walk in the fresh air. Alice thought it was an excellent idea and nodded, got up and grabbed her jacket .Richard gently put his arm around her shoulder for support as he was a bit worried she might faint. Thankfully the fresh air outside perked her up considerably

‘Oh that’s better’ Alice sighed as they began to wander around the grounds of the village common. She was still slightly stunned that Richard had said that she was the reason he’d come. She was flushed with all the feelings she felt back at school-heightened more so by his transformation into a handsome grown man.

They walked and talked, Richard telling Alice about his career highlights and asking with deep interest in her career. He was impressed but not surprised at how her path had gone as he always knew she would fulfil her potential.

“So, “Richard ventured bravely “Do you have anyone special in your life? You don’t have to answer, if that’s too intrusive!”

It was a bit cheeky Alice thought, but she wasn’t ashamed to admit that her love life at present was somewhat non-existent; however she was surprised when he replied that his was pretty much the same

“Yeah, I’ve not settled down yet, it’s a bit difficult in this industry and meeting new people is never easy plus I do quite a lot of travelling”

Alice pondered his words and the slight sadness that crossed his eyes, she hadn’t really considered that would be an issue-he was after all an up and coming, very handsome actor.

Suddenly she shivered; the cold air was starting to get into her bones. Richard saw her shake and suggested she come back with him to the pub where he was staying the night

“Not suggesting any funny business!” he laughed “It would just be lovely to carry on this conversation somewhere warmer!”

Alice giggled, damn, no men made her giggle for pity’s sake! But there was something about Richard that always made her lose her usual discomfort around people

”Go on then, “she conceded “Just a quick drink”

 It was a 5 minute walk to the half empty pub where they grabbed a couple of brandy’s and found a small nook by the fire. The orange glow and spirits soon warmed Alice’s bones and their conversation flowed as easily as it did all those years ago. Her feelings from all those years before came crashing back into her but Alice fended them off. It was lovely that he had wanted to catch up after all this time, but surely that was all it could possibly be from his side.  It’s not like he came to sweep her off her feet or any ridiculous day dream like that!  

Richard, however, was simply enamoured, he hadn’t spoken to anyone like Alice in a long time. She was funny, clever, self-effacing and damn attractive. He was wracking his brains at how to keep her talking to him all night if he could as he didn’t want the night to end. She had a wonderful effect on him that made him relax and be himself and surprisingly talkative..

“Time ladies and gents “the landlord shouted ringing the bell at the bar

Richard and Alice looked at each other, both with some disappointment in their eyes

“Well, I guess I ought to get going?”  Alice frowned as she got up and adjusted her slightly crumpled dress

Richards face fell; he wasn’t ready to let her go yet so got up with her

“You really have to go?” he said sounding sad

Alice was a bit stunned and slightly confused by his reaction. She’d loved these last few hours talking and laughing with Richard, like they had never been apart for these 20 years, but what could he mean? She looked at him with her head slightly tilted

“Well its Saturday tomorrow, so I don’t have plans, but I kind of have to go home before I’m too tired to drive” she replied

Richard reached forward and took one of Alice’s hands in his: “Stay here instead? “He asked tentatively looking at her.

Now Alice really was confused and even more so by the sensations flowing into her body from where he was tenderly holding her hand.

“Alice,” Richard began to speak again “Tonight has been so amazing, you’re amazing and well..” he stopped and looked her directly in the eyes this time “I just don’t want tonight to finish”

Alice felt her cheeks blush and she took hold of Richards other hand and replied smiling shyly “Neither do I”

 Richard carefully pulled her close in response, his warm chest touching hers and softly kissed her lips. She melted into his body and lips, never wanting to part.


End file.
